Reverse-engineering the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer's sound chip from die photos

.hilite {cursor:zoom-in} a:link img.hilite, a:visited img.hilite { color: #fff;} The Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer was released in 1983 and became "one of the most important advances in the history of modern popular music"1. It defined the sound of 1980s pop music, used by bands from A-ha and Michael Jackson to Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston. The DX7's electric piano sound can be heard in over 40% of 1986's top hits.2 Compared to earlier synthesizers, the DX7 was compact, inexpensive, e...